Second generation Power Mac G5s rumored for March

The second generation Power Mac G5 units will make an appearance by early March of next year, according to a rather detailed report submitted to AppleInsider. The 'Power Mac 8,1', as sources call it, will see an introduction shortly after IBM unveils the 90nm G5 at the International Solid State Circuit conference in February.

The 90nm G5 reportedly contains a feature called 'Power Tune' which allows for rapid frequency and power scaling, and features electronic fusing. The Power Mac 8,1 system controller will be called U3 revision II, sources said, and will add support for 533 DDR II RAM, as well as supporting a Front Side Bus of up to 1.5Ghz. The Power Mac 8,1 will also sport an ASIC controller built using the 90nm technology.

A previous report suggested the appearance of dual 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5 models sometime in January. According to new information, these units would either be built around the current architecture and 130nm G5 process or simply appear in March as part of the architecturally revamped second generation Power Mac G5.